Our engagement with Iran spans decades, shaped by parliamentary diplomacy, political dialogue, and a sincere belief that nations — no matter how different in culture, faith, or history — can find common ground through dialogue and understanding.

It is with deep sadness that we now watch the troubling developments unfolding in Iran, marked by violent clashes, uncertainty, and suffering borne most heavily by ordinary citizens. We pray fervently that these tensions will soon subside, that violence will give way to dialogue, and that peace will prevail, for the good of Iran and, above all, its people.

We travelled to Iran many times beginning in the early years of the Shah, and again during the Islamic Republic, most notably in 2006, when we visited Tehran to confer with Iran’s highest political leaders. Our purpose then was earnest — to explore ways by which Iran might be constructively engaged in the global community’s efforts to ease the continuing wars in the Middle East, conflicts that persist to this day. These included the deep Sunni–Shi’ite divide and the violent struggles in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, and related politico-religious and tribal conflicts in parts of Africa.

During that visit, we met President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Speaker of Parliament Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, our close friend and former Speaker Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, then Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, and our dear friend, the late former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. What struck us then was the unmistakable pride of Iran’s leaders in their country’s civilizational depth and growing regional and global influence. They sensed, correctly, that world powers across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Latin America were beginning to acknowledge Iran’s rising stature.

Iran has always held a special place in our heart for deeply personal and institutional reasons. Tehran is home to the Secretariat of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA), now comprising more than 40 Asian parliaments, which we had the honor to co-found as a modest step toward the long-term vision of an Asian Parliament. As our contribution to strengthening parliamentary cooperation in Asia, we supported the transfer of the APA headquarters from Manila to Tehran, despite objections from some parliamentary leaders in the Philippines and elsewhere in Asia.

Iran’s political parties are also active members of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), which we founded in Manila in September 2000. ICAPP now brings together some 350 ruling, opposition, and independent political parties from 52 Asian countries. One of ICAPP’s co-founders was the late Iranian Vice President and Minister of Energy, Hassan Ghafoori Fard, an old friend whose early faith in the idea of political parties as instruments of peace and cooperation we will forever cherish.

Our ties with Iran also intersect with personal history. When democracy was restored in the Philippines in 1986, President Corazon Aquino graciously offered us the post of Philippine Ambassador to Iran. With gratitude, we declined, choosing instead to run for Congress in Pangasinan in 1987, though we briefly served as Ambassador-at-Large from 1986 to 1987.

At the United Nations, Iran and the Philippines stood shoulder to shoulder in advancing Interfaith Dialogue. Together, we successfully sponsored a landmark U.N. General Assembly Resolution in November 2004, committing the international community to promote dialogue among faiths as a means of resolving politico-religious conflicts, empowering moderates, and isolating those who justify terror in the name of religion. Former President Mohammad Khatami’s visionary call for a “Dialogue Among Civilizations,” recognized by the U.N. in 2001, remains especially relevant today.

We recall with warmth President Rafsanjani’s visit to Manila, following President Fidel Ramos’ visit to Tehran in 1995, the last such exchanges at the highest level between our two countries. These visits, along with Speaker Nategh Nouri’s visit to Manila upon our invitation, deepened political, economic, and cultural ties.

Today, as Iran faces another difficult chapter, we look back with nostalgia, but also forward with hope. Iran is a great civilization with a resilient people. We pray that wisdom will prevail over force, dialogue over confrontation, and that whatever the outcome of today’s trials, it will ultimately serve the peace, dignity, and future of Iran and its people.